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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Summer Vegetables with Chimichurri

What
should you do when you’re driving on the left lane in the freeway and your exit
is coming up in less than 2 miles and there are 4 cars on the right lane that
are so close to one another and there is no room for you to cut in? (Mouthful!)

That’s
basically where I was yesterday and because I had a horrible experience missing
that exit last week, I decided it shouldn’t happen again. I sped up to get
ahead of the 4 cars so I can take my exit. Then when there was finally a safe
distance between car #1 and car #2, I squeezed in and… got caught speeding and
cutting other vehicles off.

Lesson
learned… do not believe your friends when they say it’s ok to speed on the left
lane when you’re passing other cars. The police officer would hear none of my
explanations and told me that since I was not bleeding to death, what I did was
absolutely unnecessary. Great! Never mind the fact that I was only speeding up
because I needed to get to my exit and when I cut in, there was a good distance
between me, the car in front, and the car behind.

Tears
flowed, explanations became incoherent, anger was pushed down… the police
officer lessened my speed by half and did not charge me for cutting in front of
another vehicle. Still, $93 and another
a speeding ticket on my record.

Work
wasn’t as fun after what happened. All I wanted to do was go home and cry, but
I had students to see and I’m glad I pushed on. They are sweet and their smiles
brightened me up.

After
work, I hastened to the dental office for a filling appointment. For some reason,
there’s a crack in one of my back teeth. When I got home, my numb face and numb
heart (from the morning police encounter) wiped me out and a nap was due. Working
out usually fixes me during frustrated mindset moments, but since my mouth was
in no working order for smiles or conversations at the gym, I opted to stay
home and make granola and a delicious dinner.

During
summers, I go crazy with the abundance of vegetables. There’s plenty and they
are so good there’s no need to cover up the taste. I like to just sauté them
with olive oil then add simple seasonings such as salt and pepper. Which is
exactly what I did here… no need for a super accurate recipe here… feel free to
add more or substitute and even use herbs or special seasonings to your fancy.

Summer Vegetable Sauté (Makes 4
servings)

olive
oil

2
garlic cloves, minced

1
small Walla Walla onion (or any sweet onion), sliced

4
shiitake mushrooms (or more), roughly chopped

1
carrot, chopped into half moons

1
bell pepper, sliced

1 zucchini,
chopped into half moons

1
yellow zucchini, chopped into half moons

salt
and pepper

Coat
the bottom of a large pan with olive oil. Heat the oil over medium heat.

When
the oil is hot, sauté the garlic until it turns golden brown. Add the onion
slices and sauté until soft and translucent. Throw in the mushrooms and sauté until
soft. Season with about 1-2 pinches of salt and pepper.

Toss
the carrot sliced and cook for a little over a minute. Add the bell pepper
slices in and cook for a little over a minute. Throw in the zucchini and cook
for about 2 minutes. Lastly, throw in the yellow zucchini and stir everything
constantly for about 4 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve
warm.

What
made this dinner most special was the chimichurri… For the Food Matters Project
recipe two weeks ago, the members made chimichurri and I used mine as a pizza
sauce for an extremely amazing grilled pizza. So, I wanted to give it another
try with sautéed vegetables and a piece of pork chop. Yep, just a piece!
Minimal meat intake in this household. The chimichurri added so much flavor and
freshness to everything I slathered it on! It was garlicky with a slight spicy
kick and a bright, lemony zing.

Chimichurri

Adapted
from Mark Bittman’s, Mixed Grill with
Chimichurri

2
cups fresh parsley, mostly leaves

1
cup basil

2
cloves garlic

¼ cup
olive oil

juice
of 1 medium sized lemon

1
tsp red chili flakes

salt
and pepper to taste

Place
the parsley, basil, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice and purée in a blender.
Add the chili flakes, a pinch or two of salt, and pepper and purée for a few
more seconds. Serve fresh!

Now,
the pork chop. It was a delicious Mexican fiesta, even though there was just
one piece shared by two adults (the bigger adult got 2/3 of it). Seriously
though, it had all the right seasonings in it that made it incredibly tasty.

Turn
the heat on to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down a notch and flip
the pork chop on the other side and cook for 12-15 more minutes.

Serve
warm.

Serve
everything with rice and you have a complete, healthy, and delicious meal!

After
dinner, I asked DFJ to write the $93 check for my speeding infraction. It would
have hurt me too much to do it… I signed it with a heavy heart, took a deep
breath, promised myself to be more mindful next time, and stopped hating the
police officer. He was just doing his job.

You
think if I invited him over for dinner, he would have torn my check and just told
me to be good next time? Hmmm…

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About Me

Hello, my name is Margarita. I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well and working out. I am a cooking enthusiast and I like sharing my love for good food. Most of my recipes contain lots of vegetables and perhaps a bit of meat here and there. Staying active is one of the things that keep me sane. I love doing yoga, walking, hiking, biking, lifting weights, and occasional running. Join me in my food, travel, and life adventures and together let's eat well, cook right, live strong, and be healthy!